The Changeling
by binkeybella
Summary: Team Gibbs is finally in the groove until their lab Goth unknowingly rocks the boat trying to fit a new member into the team. AU, No slash. Set a year or so after Cate joins up.
1. Chapter 1

Changeling definition: (from Western European folklore) A child believed to have been exchanged by fairies for the parents' true child.

"Okay, so tell me again why he's here?" Tony asked as nonchalantly as he could, hoping no one heard the desperation in his voice.

"He is here to help us with the computer forensics of the case, Tony," Cate huffed impatiently. "Gibbs already explained it to you!"

"Eggs -actly, Catie, _Gibbs _explained it to me. Gibbs. Talking. About computers. What words in that set of words don't belong together?"

"Oh for crying out loud, Tony, what is there to understand, none of us are smart enough to get the information we need off Hughson's computer and we need Tim McGee to do it, what part of that don't you get?"

"Why Abby can't do it, I mean, that's what I don't get, she's got mad computer skills, give her enough time and she can crack it like a -"

"Don't have enough time, DiNozzo," Gibbs answered for her, swinging into the bullpen. "Hughson walks, he leaves the country, computer and all, no evidence, no conviction."

"There's that, I guess." Tony conceded, but his face still showed his stony belligerence, and Gibbs could only wonder what was brewing beneath the surface. "He's staying at my place while he's here, no rooms avail -"

"Boss, we were supposed to-" Tony's protest died on his lips when he realized nothing was going right the entire day.

"What, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked without looking up from his work.

Shit. The man had forgotten about it already. That figured.

"Uhh, nothing, Boss." Might as well give in to the wave, go with the flow, hold his water. "When's he getting in?"

"Should be here shortly depending on traffic. Send him straight down to Abby if he gets in and I'm not here."

"Got it, Gibbs." Cate put in, hoping to divert the job over to herself. Knowing her partner, he'd send poor McGee down to Ducky's lair, or worse, Director Morrow's.

"Back in a while, got a meeting with Fornell, he can't get out of the Hoover building."

Cate waited for Gibbs to disappear into the elevator before starting her interrogation of DiNozzo.

"So you can tell _me, _Tony, why _don't _you like McGee? There's not a _thing_ wrong with him, he's hard-working, ambitious, unfailingly polite, and did we happen to mention his degrees from Johns Hopkins and MIT?"  
_So many times that I want to vomit on your desk top, Catie._

"Yes, I do recall being reminded of that, Cate." Tony answered flatly, all annoyance, in fact any emotion at all removed from his voice as he went back to his own computer. Conversation over, talking about the geek would only give him more power.

"Seems to have a thing for Abby, too." she added innocently.

Tony wanted to groan out loud. Just one more reason to want to give the guy a swirlie. True, maybe McGee was a better bet than Guido the Marine she had just dumped, but..

"Huh, well, I guess that's Abby's business, I'm not allowed to pick her dates for her, she stomped on my little toe with her big boots the last time I stuck my nose in her dating business. Not going there again."

Cate looked across the bullpen at her partner, trying to ascertain what was actually going on in his head, but like Gibbs had witnessed, she saw nothing of import on his face as he blandly pecked at his keyboard. Well, Tony was prone to fits of inexplicable behavior, especially when it involved someone he had difficulty in relating to, so whatever it was, would run its course soon enough, she decided, and went back to her own work, leaving the problem in the capable hands of their boss.

Which, they all found out later, proved to be a huge miscalculation.

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Doctor Donald 'Ducky' Mallard may have been considered eccentric and off-color by some, but to those who knew him, he knew exactly what the scuttlebutt and mood of the agency he worked for was at any given time, especially when it involved his two closest friends, Jethro Gibbs and Anthony DiNozzo.

Abby Sciuto had unwittingly informed him of Tim McGee's impending visit, and why he was visiting. When she realized that perhaps it was a tale told out of school, though there was really nothing wrong with anyone knowing he was visiting for a while, but maybe Gibbs didn't want the entire agency knowing he was totally ill-equipped to handle computer forensics for their present case, but didn't everyone already know that already, and really, they couldn't find a better employee of the agency to handle it if she couldn't...and Ducky had already let her ramble on for so long, she figured '_in for a pound, in for a penny', _and proceeded to tell him that she was cooking up a plan to get Tim transferred to their agency to work in cyber crimes and maybe eventually Gibbs' own team.

Ducky's head snapped up from his work of measuring some unfortunate's cranium, and he stopped what he was doing to actually speak instead of just listen.

"Abigail, if I were you I would consider the plan that you are formulating a bit more carefully. It has taken Jethro many years to finally find a team that he can work with without being in a constant state of uproar. Adding someone who is efficient in the extreme in computer technology may just upset the apple cart, as it were."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ducky, they _like _Timmy, no one has ever said a bad word about him, not even Tony – well, he calls him a geek, but really, he's just stating a fact, but -"

"Working with someone long-distance, or even physically for a day or two is not quite the same thing as joining the team and changing the entire dynamic of it."

"But it's just the _three _of them, Ducky, adding the fourth will _balance _them!"

"Abigail, I am telling you that you are putting your romantic feelings for Timothy before what is actually best for the team!"

"Ducky, I would never do such a thing, Timmy is just a friend, and I'm trying to help him out, he _so _wants to come work here!"

"Then I suggest to you that you let him get here on his own volition and not force him on your friends here, friends, whom need I remind you, have always had your best interests at heart and would never consider foisting a friend of theirs on you to work along side you in your laboratory."

"Gibbs says he likes him, and he'll help me." she stated, her face set in a defiant pout.

"Yes, well, up until now, 'Gibbs' is not known for his sterling record when it comes to selecting members for his team. You were, as I recall, quite enthused about having that – what was the nickname Anthony gave him – Jelly Belly – ingratiate himself into Director Morrow's good graces and onto Jethro's team."

Abby blanched at the name and the memories associated with it. During an undercover case, the agent had been talking on his cell with his girlfriend instead of watching for Tony's signal that things were heading south, and as a result of missing it, Tony had spent two days in the hospital and another three at Gibbs's place mending from various scrapes and contusions fleeing for his life from the perps. No one ever knew what Gibbs had said to the guy in the interrogation room, but when Jelly Belly was escorted out of the building by security, he was ghostly pale and sweating profusely.

That evening, Chris Pacci had found the remains of the latest hot cell phone gouged into the carpet, all but unrecognizable after having been stomped on by a work boot belonging to a beyond furious Gibbs. Obviously either no one had warned the newest agent about Gibbs' fierce protective streak when it came to his team, or he stupidly chose to ignore it; either way, he was never heard about again in reference to any government agency or case.

"He's nothing like Jelly B- like Brian Dillman, Ducky, I would never -"

"Abigail, I know you mean well, and I know that no matter what I say to you, you will march right ahead with your plans, but mark my words, if harm comes to that team because of your being so headstrong, you will not have my sympathy this time, nor anyone else's."

"Timmie wouldn't hurt a fly, Ducky. It'll be fine, he's a super-cyber agent, he's not going out in the field with them."

Ducky sighed, shaking his head as he went back to his work. Though he had never made a big fuss about his gut instincts like Jethro Gibbs was accustomed to doing, he nonetheless had them, and very accurate ones to boot, and at the moment they were rapping him on the head in intuitive warning.

Perhaps he would have a chance to talk to Gibbs before the day was out and this business with Abby and Timothy McGee got out of hand.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Loads of thanks to all who took the time to review, favorite or follow. AU as per usual, and a bit OCC for Gibbs, but I know the man has it in him, even though the show writers are afraid to take him off his 'bastard' leash. **_

As it happened, Ducky was never able to have that talk with Gibbs, at least not until things got so out of hand that Gibbs came down to talk to him instead. They were chest deep in a complex embezzling case, with barely time to eat and sleep, much less monitor everyone's feelings, and it wasn't like he did that even when they were working cold cases.

When Gibbs thought back on it, he remembered DiNozzo's badly disguised apprehension and his questioning Tim McGee's need to be working with them in person on the case. He had ignored it all, knowing how Tony often didn't play well with others when he felt his territory was being threatened; he had had to play half-way nicely with current team members when he first joined Gibbs' MCRT, but when they had come down to just Tony and himself as a two-man team, he had balked at having Caitlin Todd join them.

DiNozzo had never come right out and complained to Gibbs in so many words, he would never have been that unprofessional or foolhardy, but his behavior in the field and attitude in the bullpen was cause for a few tense moments between them all until Gibbs had laid into Tony at a crime scene and regretted it later when he found out that Cate had been baiting him most of the day, and then inadvertently crossed a line regarding Tony's mother.

That evening, under the influence of a muscle relaxant, Tony had admitted to Gibbs that he believed that Cate was his new favorite agent, and Gibbs had to admit that in his effort to make Cate Todd feel at home and comfortable on his team, he had done and said a lot of things that would have made someone as insecure as DiNozzo certainly think it was true. He'd learned to modify his approach after that, trying to remember that while Tony was a smoking hot investigator and undercover operator, his self-esteem and underlying feelings were surprisingly fragile. Gibbs remembered a time when he himself was still that vulnerable, and reached deep within to find enough empathy to tread lightly where Tony's true emotions were involved.

Now Gibbs found himself in a situation he never would have tolerated a few years back – trying to please three team members and one valuable NCIS field office agent, and not doing a very good job with any of them. A while back, he would have told them all to can the damned squabbling and deal with it, or hit the highway. When had his team become something he was intimidated by? How had he allowed it to happen and why? And where was his famous gut when it came to keeping things professional with his team and leaving those pesky feelings and emotions out of the picture?

He shoved the nagging voice to the back of his head so he could deal with the present situation, which basically involved everyone being pissed at DiNozzo and DiNozzo behaving like an automaton for the past two days. He couldn't yell at the kid, he wasn't doing anything wrong – but everything was wrong anyways, and it seemed to revolve around something he had done previously. Gibbs knew how immature Tony could be at times, and that immaturity sometimes led to poor behavioral decisions on Tony's part. But if he talked to his team about it, he would only get one side of the story from any of them – Cate and Abby were clearly on Tim McGee's side, and Tony was definitely on the defensive against them. Only one person to talk to who would know what was going on and possibly how to deal with it.

"Hey, Duck, got a minute?" Gibbs called from the autopsy doorway to his older, and often wiser friend.

"Only just, Jethro, I must get this exam done for Agent Pacci before the day's end."

"Can you talk and work, then?"  
"Yes, of course, you know that I can, though there will be times I will have to stop and record my findings."

"Won't take but a minute. Wondered if any of my team had talked to you about what's going on with them. Seems DiNozzo's got the girls in some sort of uproar, and I'm thinking it's over Tim McGee."

"You are correct, Jethro. Agent McGee is at the center of their 'uproar' as you call it. First, may I ask you if you plan on adding the young man to your team roster?"

"McGee? On my team? As a field agent?"

"Yes. That is what I am asking."

"Hadn't planned on it, why? You thinking I should?"

"Good Lord, no, not only is he not ready for such a position, but you would be losing the best agent you've ever coerced onto your team, _and, _I might add, one who has come to see you as a great deal more than a boss or mentor. And one, I believe, who has come to mean a great deal more to _you _than just a senior field agent. You accepted Abigail as a surrogate daughter almost immediately upon meeting her, and you feel much the same way about Caitlin since she has joined your team. Though both of them welcome and enjoy those paternal feelings from you, they do not crave them, as they both have strong familial bonds with family members back in their home states."

"Duck, what is all this getting at?" Gibbs interrupted impatiently. "What's this got to do with Tim McGee?"

Ducky weighed the liver he had just placed in the specimen pan and wrote the numbers down on his clipboard chart, then set it aside to retrieve the victim's heart. Gibbs looked away, not in the mood for watching the excavation of the rest of the organs.

"Do you feel the same way about Anthony that you do about Abigail and Caitlyn?"

"You mean is he like my kid? Well yeah, Duck, I wouldn't have brought him back from Baltimore if I hadn't felt that connection."

"You needed his skills and energy to put you back on top of the agency dog pile, Jethro. I recall a bit of a blow up between the two of your over your exact intentions for adding him to your team."

If Gibbs was a man who blushed in embarrassment, he would have just then. That 'misunderstanding' between himself and DiNozzo had not been one of his finest moments. Tony had accused him of wanting to use him as a super-agent, willing to run him into the ground to reach his goal of being the team leader with the highest solve rate. He'd been unable to deny it, but was able to save _some _face by convincing the young man that it hadn't been his original intent, and that _was _the truth. He had liked what he'd seen from DiNozzo during that Baltimore case, but he had also liked the kid just because, and felt an undeniable pull in his gut that Tony needed him to take him out of Baltimore and bring him to his team. Admitting that his gut had been telling him that he needed Tony in his life wasn't going to happen, not out loud, anyways.

"Well, it got to that point, yeah, but it wasn't the original reason and you know it as well as _I _do.

"Then I suggest you think back to the 'original reason', and how you would feel if he decided to leave your team and possibly this city if you don't get this abominable mess straightened out."

"I can't straighten it out until I find out what 'it' is, and I can't find that out from my team cause I doubt I'll get the real story."

"Really. You think so little of Anthony's ability to sort fact from fiction that he will tell you only his version of the truth? I seriously doubt that, Jethro. If anything, he will be placing all of the blame for this fiasco on his own shoulders as he is wont to do. So if you _do _decide to follow my advice and go to him first, make sure you are ready to read between all of his lines and subterfuge to find the real story, and then be prepared to tell him what he needs to hear."

"And what would that be, Duck?"

"You will know when the time comes to tell him. And you not 'wimp out' on him and leave him to figure it out for himself, because he will invariably come up with all the wrong answers and you will not be happy with them."

And with that, the M.E turned back to the dismantling of his deceased guest, leaving his live one to sort out what had been said and what he needed to do with the information. Gibbs looked at his watch and mentally located his team, making plans to do damage control in between wrapping up a case that was fast becoming the bane of his existence. But first he needed coffee.

Half an hour later, he charged into the bullpen with a purpose, coffee cups and pastry bags in hand.

Tony was at his desk, but Cate nowhere to be seen. Well, while the cat was away, some annoyed mice were determined to play. Gibbs was pretty sure she was down at Abby's lab, cooking up some sort of hinky revenge plot that Tony would be too chivalrous, not to mention embarrassed, to tattle about to Gibbs. It would have to be something she considered important to risk being away from her desk when

the boss got back from where ever he was.

"Where's Cate?" he asked, as if he had no idea.

"Not really sure, Boss, she didn't tell me, though if I had to guess, I'd say she was with Abby plotting the best way to kill me and hide the evidence."

Gibbs closed his eyes in weariness and disgust. If both he and Tony were thinking the same thing, it was a pretty good bet that was what was happening, although probably on not quite the same dramatic scale. They were looking to punish Tony somehow for his latest supposed transgression, in a way that wouldn't physically harm him, but psychologically damage him enough that he would never dare to cross them in the same way again. Well, maybe now was the time to find out what sin his SFA had supposedly committed to incur Abby and Cate's ire.

"What did you do to them, Tony?" he asked pointedly, but without heat.

"Boss, you don't -"

"This ends now, DiNozzo. I can't finish this case with the three of you conducting sibling guerrilla warfare."

Tony looked up at him with eyes vacant of any sort of emotion, not even righteous anger, and Gibbs stood back the tiniest bit at the disturbing sight. He knew that look, Cate called it DiNozzo's 'Tony has left the building' face.

"Yeah." Tony muttered. "Always my fault. Never the girls."

"Tony, that's not what I meant."

"Then what the hell _did you _mean, Boss? Those two can never do anything wrong in your eyes and they know it, so when they decide to do something, they just go ahead and do it and if it doesn't end up working out they can just blame _me_!"

Gibbs' eyebrows rose at that. Not necessarily the words, he knew his SFA was dead on with them; it was the anger behind them, so he shoved down his own ire at Tony's open petulance.

"Tell me what _they _did, then." he said, quietly waiting.

Tony hesitated in surprise. He had been expecting anger and defensiveness from the man, not mildness and patience.

"They want McGee to join the team. Say he has a lot more skills than I do, and he takes things more seriously."

"You believe them?"

"It doesn't _matter _what I believe, Boss, you _know _Abby, she really likes him, and she'll just keep plowing ahead 'til she gets what she wants!"

"That's not what I asked you, Tony. Do you believe he's a better fit for this team than you?"

Tony looked away from the man, out the window to the river and beyond.

"He's a good guy, Boss. Works hard and has way more cyber skills than I'll ever even _want._ He helped us a lot on this case, you know that. But he's not field agent material, at least not now. Guy gets queasy at the sight of blood, how the hell is he gonna deal with a crime scene?"

"He's not, at least for a while. Maybe not ever. Doesn't matter, it's not happening right now, and right now we're talking about you. You think you take this job seriously? Or any other job you've had?"

"Boss, we're dealing with people's lives here, their futures, I mean – bad evidence and a serial killer goes free – worse evidence, and an innocent person gets sent up for life. I may goof off to get people to chill, but I sure as hell don't mess around when it comes to doing my job. You wouldn't have the highest solve rate three years going if the was the case."

"You have good results in Baltimore? Philly? Peoria? What about college? You not take that seriously, frat parties aside?"

"You know my stats, Boss. And yeah, my GPA was a steady 3.6 right up to graduation."

"But you flunked out of FLETC, right?"

Tony grinned, knowing his boss knew exactly what he had accomplished in FLETC. He'd surprised a lot of people, save Gibbs and Ducky, by coming out in the top five of his class.

"So what'd you say to Abby and Cate to get them so pissed at ya? Must've been bad, cause I'm pretty sure you're right and they're fixin' to get ya."

Tony sobered, thinking back to his confrontation with them and how off-kilter they'd both gotten.

"They were – calling me names, Boss." Tony answered quietly. "I mean – seriously, they were telling me I was an immature brat and I just didn't want any more competition for your – attention, and that I was jealous of Tim because he can run rings around me on the computer. Stuff like that. I mean, I expected it from Cate, but not from Abby. She...surprised me, Boss. She can be really sharp-tongued when she wants you to get her point."

Gibbs seemed to watch his second talking from an unbiased and unemotional point of view, ever vigilant to keep his own mask on his actual feelings, but what he saw in in Tony's eyes and heard in his voice made his heart hurt. Up until now, the three younger members of his team had been a cohesive, loving unit marred only by occasional spats and differences of opinion, and he knew DiNozzo saw Abby and Cate as older sisters in his unexpected surrogate family. And up until now, even though they loved to tease and torture him, they had still always been very protective of him, even against Gibbs if they thought he was coming down too hard on Tony. Gibbs could hear the disappointment and a hint of betrayal in his young friend's voice, and mentally head slapped himself hard for not seeing the battle going on right in under his nose.

"Love is blind, Tony, but she'll sure as hell see me coming to ream her out for starting this whole thing."

"No, Boss, c'mon, it's really not that big a deal..."

"Are you saying that cause you don't think you're worth it or cause it's Abby I'm gonna head slap into next week?"

"Uh – for Abby, Boss. She shouldn't have started this but I don't want you making things worse than they are."

"I won't, Tony. But if we're gonna keep working as a team, I can't have one of you going off half-cocked thinking you're running the show any time you want something done. She knows the rules, she's just pushing the envelope, same with Cate. In fact I might slap her even harder, cause she knows better than to think I can be pushed into adding a new team member just cause he's her or Abby's flavor of the week."

"I think the McGee flavor is lasting longer than a week, Boss, but yeah, you're right."

"And what about you, did you really think I would transfer him to my team cause Abby thinks she wants to marry him and have his babies? If anything that makes me wanna go after him with my sniper rifle."

"I honestly didn't know _what _to think, Boss. I just had a bad feeling about him coming here, then he was here, then before I knew it Cate and Abs had ganged up on me for telling them he wasn't here to stay so don't make him too comfortable. I mean, it wasn't just cause they were trying to make me think I was a moron compared to him, though that _was _part of it. I just really didn't think it was fair to McGee for them to get his hopes all up making him think he was joining the team just to have his spirit crushed. I know what it's like to – well, have that happen to you. Not a nice feeling."

"Yeah, and I can see how Abby could make him believe he was a shoe-in 'cause she's buds with the boss."

"He's a good guy, Gibbs,and uber smart, he's got a lot to offer the agency, but not on the MCRT."

"I'll talk to Ron in Cyber Crimes, maybe he's got something for him."

"Already did, Boss. Thinks one of his people is transferring to the Rota office soon, McGee could put in for that. I was going to tell Abby but she was so nasty to me last time I was down there I figured I'd have you tell him. Won't sound like so much like sour grapes or sloppy seconds coming from you."

"I'll take care of it. And Abby and Cate. Grab your gear and go home, you've put in a lot of hours on this, you need a break."

"Can I come to your place instead, Boss? I still have that steak we were gonna cook the other night, it's in the freezer."

_Ah, Christ. _Gibbs cursed to himself. In his haste to get the current case solved and McGee settled at his place, he'd totally forgotten the plans he'd made with Tony for cowboy steaks and pie. And how had that seemed to Tony, inviting the MIT/Johns Hopkins genius to make himself at home for however long it took, just to wrap up the sordid mess and get the Sec Nav off his back. It sure didn't help to have Cate and Abby punching holes in the kid's ego by using McGee as a yardstick for what a MCRT field agent should be. He knew by talking to Tony just now that the young man knew better, but after a while, guys like him started believing their own press, no matter how wild and untruthful it was.

"Go get it, get it thawed, I'll be home in a couple hours, tops. Gotta meet with the Director when I'm done with my head slapping."

"Boss, you're not really gonna – hit them _hard, _like you do me sometimes, are you? Cause – I know I say it's not fair, but – maybe you can just take Abby's Caff-Pow away from her and -"

"Tony, don't _worry_ about it, I'm not gonna hurt them!" _Much._

Truthfully, Gibbs didn't really know for sure how he was going to handle 'his girls', he'd never had to handle sibling rivalry when it was just Kelly. And he knew he gave Abby too much latitude when it came to getting her own way, it was habit for him and she'd gotten to expect it. Well, things were going to change on the home front now that he knew how solidly the gals could gang up against Tony when Dad wasn't paying attention. He had to chuckle to himself though as he headed for the elevator; even after getting figuratively knocked to the ground and mud thrown in his face by his surrogate sisters, Tony was still worried about their punishment being too harsh. He'd have to remember to add that to the list when he was reaming them both out.

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

Hauling ass down to Abby's lab before she and Cate could brew up any more trouble, Gibbs wished he had more time to think through what he was going to say to them, but he had a meeting with the Director and Sec Nav and would probably be late for it as it was. Though people in general never ceased to surprise him, he was rather dismayed at finding out that his lab Goth and team profiler had teamed up to harass his SFA into submission once they found out he wasn't seeing things from their point of view.

He knew that they had all grown accustomed to DiNozzo's easy-going nature, and the fact that he rarely showed his darker side, saving that energy for putting into difficult cases or surly criminals. And he of all people was guilty of forgetting that even though Tony kept the lid slammed down tightly on his emotions, he was one of the most sensitive people Gibbs had ever known.

Besides what Gibbs himself had gleaned from DiNozzo in Baltimore, he had given Ducky Tony's entire work and personal background dossier, and asked for a psychological profile of the kid. He hadn't really liked the information that the M.E had given him, and was prone to not wanting to believe it, but that wasn't really an option. Ducky had assured him that although personality flaws abounded in the young man, not the least of which included self-worth, abandonment, insecurity and anger issues, none of those deep-seeded concerns were likely to make the boy to unravel under pressure and cause a catastrophe involving life and limb.

Gibbs kept all that information to himself and in the back of his mind, constantly walking the tightrope of giving too much or too little attention to Tony's needs and vices, and occasionally mentally head-slapping himself for bothering to worry about it in the first place. DiNozzo was his senior field agent, not a special needs child, and it wasn't Gibbs' job to keep track of Tony's every emotional clue. But the general well-being and morale of the team _was _Gibbs' responsibility, and he could always tell himself that that's what he was tending to when he made sure DiNozzo was fed and healthy and not wallowing somewhere back in his shitty childhood due to some nasty case that couldn't help but start picking the ragged scars off the kid's emotional wounds.

This time it wasn't a case that had done it, but his own surrogate family, on a mission to snag a favored field office worker for Abby's dating and possible torturing delectation. What the hell had they been thinking, trying to go behind Gibbs' back to do it, and then trying to force Tony into submission by poking him on his tender, barely healed spots? It had backfired on them, and they had ended up poking the bear, too, in the process; this time there was no way to point the finger at DiNozzo and let him take the heat, no matter how they would insist that 'Tony had started it." Gibbs was going to end it, and now, and he was hot enough under the collar with them that he didn't need to steel himself against Abby's plaintive cajoling, or Cate's big pleading brown eyes. Tony's own wounded orbs had burned through Gibbs' resolve at staying neutral about the whole affair.

When he stormed into Abby's lab and found the two of them with their heads together and Tim McGee blithely sipping a coffee on a stool nearby, they really didn't know what had hit them. McGee's head shot up first, his face a perfect impression of a rabbit looking up to see a Jack Russel terrier ready to snap his neck and send him sailing. He had experienced some of Gibbs' wrath involving suspects and others foolish enough to cross the Gunny, and never expected having it rain down on his own head. He dared a quick look over at Abby and Cate, and was only marginally relieved to see that they were just as terrorized as he was. What the hell?

"McGee, go get yourself some coffee." Gibbs growled.

"B-b-but I – I -" Tim stuttered, ready to announce the obvious to the man that he already had coffee, but was nearly melted to the stool by the man's furious glare. "G-g-got it, Gibbs, coffee. Gone. Now." was all he could manage. Any other time that might have brought a tight smile from Gibbs, but not computer tech slid silently out behind the man, as if by running silent, the sniper wouldn't know he was even there.

"Gibbs, what's the matter, is Tony hurt, did something happen?" Abby asked in a panicked voice. "Tell me!"

"Why would you even _care, _Abs? And _yeah, _something _did _happen to him, but I'll get to that in a minute!"

"Gibbs!" Abby protested, grabbing his arm, but he pulled out of her grasp, surprising both her and Cate.

"Tell me what just happened here, Abs. Tell me McGee didn't all but pee his pants when I just looked at him like I was gonna take a swipe at him."

"But Gibbs, what does -"

"Did he or did he not turn green at the thought of having to walk by me to get out of this room."

"Well, _yeah, _Gibbs, but you scared him half to death coming in here like that and descending on him like some drug-crazed Grizzly bear!"

"Think about what you just said, Abs. Is he really suited to staring down a drug-crazed perp, or seeing the results of what one of them did? You think that's _fair _to him to make him think it's nothing but a video game and he can slay the bad guys with his computer?"

"Gibbs, _no-o-o-o!_" And there was the whine, the tone that begged the man to see the error of his ways, see things _her _way. Well, she had had plenty of time to learn the skills at the foot of the master, Gibbs thought to himself, though he _never _had to resort to any sort of whining.

"Don't go there, Abs, I'll do more than just slap the back of your head!" He ignored her shocked, wide-eyed look, and forged on. "You are so determined to have him here in D.C that you've got yourself and him convinced he's the right fit for a field agent on my team, despite Tony warning you against it!"

"Tony doesn't like him and he's jealous! He just thinks he's going to be replaced by McGee and -"

"Do you really believe that, Abby? That Tony would think I would toss him out and put a computer geek in his place cause I'm tired of how clueless he is with technology? That's what the hell the Cyber Crimes unit is for, they don't do our jobs and we don't do theirs! Does being a forensic scientist qualify you for field work, Abs? You proficient with hand guns? Know how to diffuse a hostage situation? Able to chase a suspect five blocks through foot traffic and not lose them? You're a bright girl, think about what you've been trying to accomplish with this, and if it's really in everyone's best interest. And when you're done, you think back on what you said to Tony when he wouldn't play by your rules!"

Abby and Cate exchanged guilt-filled looks, both knowing that in the heat of the moment, they had said pretty hurtful things to someone who had never been anything but protective and supportive of them.

They looked back at Gibbs, hoping he was done with the screaming, as they were feeling guilty enough already. But Gibbs' eyes locked on Cate's, and she knew by the disappointment showing in them that her share of it was going to be even worse. But he didn't scream at her, just bore into her with displeasure and a tinge of sadness mixed with the disappointment. She cringed inwardly, never having seen that in this man's countenance, and hoping to hell to never have it directed her way again.

"He adores you, Cate. You can do no wrong in his eyes, even though he knows you're not perfect. You know he looks at you like a big sister, _both _of you. But he expected _you _to know better about who is really suited for our job, and you know damned well there aren't very many folks out there who are.

And for you to encourage Abby _and _McGee into believing otherwise and then turn on him when he was trying to be the voice of reason is stupid beyond belief to me. Not sure what either one of ya was thinking."

"You're right, Gibbs," she answered with quiet repentance. "I let myself get carried away trying to help Abby, and just thought he was being a spoiled sport."

"Spoiled sport or spoiled _brat, _Cate? Cause when it comes to putting the best interests of his team, his family first, I don't know anyone who does it better than Tony. He may squall about nobody getting his lunch order right, but he would never go out of his way to stop either one of you from getting something that was good for you or someone close to you."

He looked back to Abby and set his glare on her.

"And if for some dumb reason you still don't believe what I'm telling you, you need to know that while you two were behaving like spoiled asses yourselves, he was talking to Ron in Cyber Crimes arranging for McGee to get the next slot open there, something that by the sounds of it, neither one of you even bothered thinking of yourselves."

Abby and Cate traded dumb-struck glances. Gibbs could tell that he was hitting it out of the park with them.

"What can I say, sometimes little brothers are a lot more intelligent than they seem, even if they are just dumb jocks instead of MIT grads. You figure out how to make this up to him, and I mean good, and I mean _now. _When I screw up with him, I fix it myself. Don't expect me to do your job just cause I got a lot of practice at it."

With that he turned his back on them, and barely acknowledged the quiet, but sincere, "Yes, Gibbs." as he left the lab. He felt better having chastised them, but the real measure of his 'talk' would be how they fixed things with Tony. He'd find out for himself when he got some good food and a couple of beers into the kid and got him to tattle on the girls.

**TBC..**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks again to all who read/reviewed/favorited/followed or anything else I might have missed.**_

_**I think there will be one more chapter after this, as an epilogue for Tony and Papa Smurf.**_

Gibbs headed towards the Director's office knowing he was a full five minutes late already, but still walked slowly enough to dial Tim McGee's number and talk to him on the way.

"Muh – GEE, where are ya?" he blasted through the small speaker, but it came out big and loud into Tim's ear.

"Err...getting coffee?"

"You still in line?"

"Yes sir! Yes, Gibbs." he corrected. "Lot of people here this time of day."

"Good. Bring DiNozzo back his favorite, throw in some brownies for him, he's had a rough day."

"Yes, Baw – Gibbs. I feel kind of responsible for -"

Gibbs cut him off, not really caring how McGee felt at the moment. "Take it to the bullpen, he'll be there working at his desk. Tell 'im he has something to tell you."

"Tell – what? I don't -"

"Just _tell _'im, McGee, quit trying so hard to figure it out!"

"Got it, Gibbs!" he answered back boldly, but to dead air as he heard the line click off as soon as he started to speak. He pocketed his phone and shuffled to the counter for his turn to order, his lips working but no noise coming out as he sorted through his memories for Tony's favorite hot drink.

Ten minutes later he was juggling the contents of the order as he walked into Gibbs' bullpen, relieved to find DiNozzo at his desk as 'The Boss' had told him. Tony smelled the coffees before he even looked up to see the computer tech coming towards him, and looked up at him with a happy grin.

"McGeek! Those for me or Gibbs?"

"For you from Gibbs. Said you had a rough day, and – anyways, I got you brownies and some jelly donuts, didn't know which you -"

"Both, Timmie. Need some sugar. Siddown, share them with me, you get yourself some coffee?"

"Yes, I did, and – why are you being so nice to me, Tony?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" A veil of panic fell over DiNozzo's face and he almost dropped the full cup of coffee in his hand. "Do you know something I don't?"

"I -y-ye -don't _think _so, Tony, except maybe Einstein's general theory of relativity." McGee had meant it to be humorous, and hoped he hadn't sounded smug.

"Oh. Yeah, the theory that time and space fold in on each other, like in black holes, so that not even light can get in or out. No, can't say as I know that one."

McGee had to bite the rim of his coffee cup to keep from spitting out what coffee he had in his mouth

Damn, the guy was good. Never knew _what _ the hell was going to come out of his mouth...He looked up to find true mischief and no malice in the laughing eyes across from him, and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Tony, I want to apologize for causing such a problem for you, honestly, I didn't know that Abby and Cate were scheming behind everyone's backs, I mean, yours and Gibbs', and – I thought it was something you had all talked about, that it was okay with _all _of you, not just Abby."

"Thanks, Tim, I appreciate you telling me that. Abs can get a little – headstrong when she has her mind set on something. I tried to tell her you can't just – well, not just _you, personally – _but a person can't just join an MCRT cause he wants to be near his girlfriend."

"Abby's _not _my girlfriend, and that's not why I wanted to -"

"Ea-sy, McSplainer, not the point of this conversation. Just trying to say that you need a little more time and training and – well, getting used to Gibbs. So I was thinking, and while you and Abby and Cate were having your – uh, sorry, while Abby and Cate were having_ their- _little pissy party – uh, I mean their 'let's get back at Tony cause he won't play the game the way _we _want' party, I was talking to Cyber Crimes and Ron Rawlings says there's a pretty good possibility there's going to be a slot open next month and if you put in for it now, you'll be first on the list to be interviewed. Not sure what the pay grade is, if it's worse or better than what you're doing now, but – figured if you really wanted to be on a team here, you can start there and get a feel for how things work here and maybe work some non-violent cases with us to start out. On loan from Cyber Crimes."

"That – that would be – wow!" McGee stuttered, a huge smile on his face. "I never _thought _of that! I don't know why _Abby _didn't think of that!"

"Cause Abs thinks like you. In a straight line, very little veering. You work with Gibbs and you're gonna have to learn to veer a _lot, _first order of veering being not to lean back a foot and curl into your shoes whenever Gibbs yells at you. Cause in case you haven't noticed, he yells a lot. Well, when he _talks _he yells. You get my point, though, McSqueak. No mice allowed on _any _teams here, although you might come across a few rats. My point is, pal, you gotta lighten up a little when you're around him. He does it on purpose cause he knows it gets to you. You gotta be like – well, like someone who hates to be tickled – you just have to steel yourself against it and when it's no fun for them anymore, they stop doing it."

"But Gibbs still yells at you!"

"Every day. He's just getting my attention cause I have a problem focusing sometimes, though I'm sure you never noticed that."

McGee grinned again, warming even more to the youngest member of Gibbs' team.

"So what was it that you came to tell me?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, Gibbs told me to go get coffee while he talked to Abby and Cate and - "  
McGee saw Tony's face fall and faltered himself. "Ub – maybe I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"Did Gibbs tell specifically tell you _not _to?"

"Ub, er, well, no. He came thundering into Abby's lab and I have to tell you, Tony, I never saw him so mad, not even when he threatened that reporter with stuffing the video camera up his -"

"That was great, wasn't it?" Tony asked, chuckling as he munched on a brownie. "I usually only see that kind of potential bladder control issue when I'm watching him in interrogation." He leaned up and took a swig of his coffee and then sat back in his chair. "So tell me, McTattle, what all did Gibbs say to the girls when he 'thundered' in there?"

"Um, honestly, I don't know, he told me to go get coffee and I went."

"Shame on you, McChicken, you didn't even stay around and defend the girls against him?"

McGee was ready to defend himself against the accusation by stating that his self-preservation instincts kicked in to over-ride his chivalry, but found DiNozzo smiling cheekily at him.

"Whatever he said to them, they both deserved. They were out of line, not just with their being nasty to me. They had no right setting you up like that, making you think Gibbs was going to bring you on the team just 'cause Abby has the – 'cause Abby thinks you're cute. She can tweak Gibbs into doing a lot of things, but she should know better than to try something that hinkey and think he'll go for it. Anyways, it wasn't fair to you and I tried to tell her so, and Cate, _nicely, _and they thought I was being a little shit cause I didn't want the competition."

"Competition? I don't understand. I'm not anything _like _you, Tony, I would never try to take your place on the team."

"Well, I appreciate that, McFairPlay, but that's not really what they meant. See, thing is, Gibbs and I were a two man team for a long time before Cate joined, and Gibbs sort of hired her without saying anything to me about it, just – had her show up one morning and start arranging stuff on her desk, and never asked if I thought it was okay. I mean, not that I had the final say on if anyone joins Teams Gibbs or not, and I liked Catie just fine when we'd worked a case together, but it would have been nice – I would have appreciated being consulted at least, you know? Cause getting a new partner is worse than getting a new puppy, they're just all kinds of work and training and patience and they never really learn to roll over or catch a ball or – but I digress. Thus, the yelling. Where was I?"

"You were talking about Gibbs putting Agent Todd on your team without asking you."

"Yeah. Well, it all worked out fine as you can see, but there were times when she first started that I really thought one of us was going to have to go. I mean, I know I can be an idiot at the best of times, but she was trying to find her footing in a new environment with a demanding boss, and she sort of forgot the team pecking order. She would get a bug up her butt over something and spend the entire day trying to one-up me and make me look like a jerk so anything that she did looked a lot better in Gibbs' eyes."  
"Well what'd you _do _about it?"

"Oh, well, I walked out in front of speeding van and got thrown into a ditch. She felt really guilty and quit being so mean to me."

"That's not how it happened, McGee." came Gibbs' commanding voice behind them as he trotted down the stairs from his meeting with the Director and Secretary of the Navy. "Though he _did _walk out in front of a speeding van and get tossed in the ditch."

"Boss, you're ruining the story.!" Tony whined, then happily forgot the whole thing and started polishing off the next to last brownie as he turned back to McGee. "So go down to Cyber Crimes Unit, tell them who you are, who sent you, and why you're there. Ron should be there to take your pertinent information and give you a tour and that will be that. Not a hundred percent guarantee you'll get the job, but it sounds pretty likely. A lot more likely than joining and MCRT in the very near future."

"Thanks, Tony, I really appreciate this, and like I said, I really didn't know I was going to cause a rift between you guys -"

"I know, McPickle-In-the-Middle, not the first sibling spat between us, certainly not the last, I'm sure. We'll be fine. Go, before someone else gets wind of the deal and beats you to it."

McGee grinned and got up from his chair, only to find Gibbs towering next to him. Somewhere in his head he heard Tony telling him he'd have to grow a spine if he ever wanted to even think about joining Gibbs' team, so he straightened his backbone instead of leaning backwards as the man loomed in on him.

"How much were the brownies and coffee, McGee?" Gibbs asked in a pleasant tone, surprising McGee yet again as he reached for his wallet.

"Uh, let's see, I think it was – around eight dollars altogether, but -"

Gibbs handed him a ten dollar bill and gave his upper arm a couple of pats.

"Thanks. Get going, let us know how you make out before you leave for the day."

"Yes, Gibbs, I'll do that." McGee promised, heading off towards the elevators with a decidedly firmer step.

Gibbs eyed his second as he settled behind his own desk and was content with what he saw. DiNozzo seemed settled, comfortable in his skin again, and his boss could concentrate on the work at hand instead of having a wrong-footed agent to deal with. He hadn't once blamed Tony for this debacle, though he had wished for the hundredth time the kid wasn't so insecure about his place with the team leader. He guessed that was going to be an on-going thing that required on-going reinforcement.

"Thought you were going home to get those steaks thawed for dinner." he stated without looking up from his keyboard.

"On it, Boss," Tony assured, getting up from his chair and gathering his belongings. Just wanted to talk to Tim before I left for the day so he could get down there to see Ron."

"Okay. Get a fire going in the grate while the steaks are thawing, I'll pick up some salad from that deli, bring the pie if you still have it."

"Still have it, Boss, though not all of it. Enough for dessert for us. See you in a while."

"Yuhp." was all Gibbs said, still without lifting his eyes off his computer screen. He knew DiNozzo would be dying to know what he'd said to Cate and Abby, or more likely, secretly worried that Gibbs had head-slapped them into Christmas. He hadn't needed to, he had seen the regret in both the women's eyes as soon as he brought them up short on the consequences of their little planned coup. They still needed to make it right with Tony, and he knew they would, and probably in a big way.

Though his job in this was done now, Gibbs resolved to keep better track of what his 'kids' were doing and 'how' they were doing, and to know the signs of something being 'hinkey' with them outside of their performance on the job. Tony had tried to warn him and then to let him know things weren't right in the family department, and Gibbs had ignored him for the same reason Cate and Abby had accused Tony of not wanting McGee around. Not a great way to reinforce even a modicum of security on Tony's part. Well, he had all evening to work on that, over a good dinner and badly worded apologies that supposedly weren't really that, but Tony would be able to pick them out of the back-handed crap Gibbs came up with. Always had been able to. Gibbs found a smile forming on his mouth at the thought of his SFA and the work he seemed to cause his boss, and decided he'd never had a more satisfying job than one Anthony D. DiNozzo.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Not beta'd. Sorry for any boo boos. Thanks for all of your support and encouragement!**_

_**Next up is another chapter of 'Refuge'. I think.**_

On his way home, Tony was so lost in thought about all that had happened the past few days that he never noticed he was being tailed until he pulled into his parking space and spotted Cate's car in the guest parking lot. He heaved a sigh, and then another when he saw that Abby was with her. He had let himself believe the entire 'Timmy wants to be an MCRT agent' episode was done and over for the time being. He fought the urge to run, knowing he was faster than even Cate, but his inherent good manners regarding guests at his home quashed the idea.

"Catie, Abs, what's up?" He queried, his voice hesitant.

"We came to apologize, Tony. You were right, and we – I – didn't want to listen to you so I made excuses for why you were wrong, and made you look bad to Gibbs, well, thought you would look bad to Gibbs, I mean not so that he would not like you or get rid of you or _anything _awful as that, although I can see now how it looked like that was what I was trying to do, but – I just wanted to help Timmie and got a little sideways."

"Ditto for me, Tony. Except I was trying to help Abby. I really didn't think it was going to turn into such a fiasco, in fact I thought that after a couple of days working with Gibbs, McGee would run screaming back to Norfolk and never want to cross the city limits again."

Abby punched her arm and Cate flinched, rubbing it.

"Whaa-at, Abby, you didn't really think I thought Gibbs would just open a spot on the team for him because you're sweet on him!"

"You never said otherwise! You said -"

"I never said it, Abby, I told you this was a good opportunity for Tim to show off his skills and prove to Gibbs that technology is our friend, and has a place in the team dynamics! I never told you Gibbs would just put him on the team because of it!"

"But -"

"Girls, come on, I'm totally caved after the last couple of days, either go bowling or come inside where I can change and get something to drink, I'm parched."

"How did you know we were going bowling?"

"Wednesday night. Bowling night. Sister Patrice is out sick, so sister Cate is filling in for her. Otherwise you would have come in separate cars."

"You can come with, Tony, we love having you bowl with us!" Abby enthused.

"Got other plans, Abs, otherwise I would."

"I'm really, really, sorry, Tony. Gibbs yelled at us so long and loud I swear Ducky's 'patients' woke up! I should have listened to you and I didn't, and I hurt your feelings, and I hate hurting anyone's feelings, but I especially hate hurting yours." She gave him a loving and truly sincere and repentant hug, and he hugged her back just as sincerely. "I know that Cate and I gang up on you sometimes and we shouldn't, little brothers are for spoiling and protecting, not picking on, but you do better at doing that for us than we do for you. Anyways, I've decided to make it up to you by cooking you one of my mom's best recipes at least once a week and bringing it to you for the next, well, I don't know know, 'til I run out of recipes, which will be a while."

"And I've decided to gas the truck and buy your morning coffee for you for a month."

Tony grinned, beaming at the two. He loved Abby's native Cajun recipes, and as for Cate, he was more than touched, knowing how much she hated getting the smell of gas on her hands when she filled whatever vehicle they were taking at the time, and how she hated parting with her money for frivolities on a daily basis.

"Thanks, guys, that's really sweet of you. I know -"

Abby's phone chose to ring at that moment, Warren Zevon's 'Things to Do In Denver When You're Dead' blaring out of her purse.

"Hold on, Tones, it's Timmie." she announced, rooting the thing out of the Mary Poppins-like bag and reading the incoming text. When she started to squeal, Cate's eyes widened in concern, but Tony had a feeling why she was making the noise. "Oh my God oh my God, oh my God, Tony, you are the best friend in the world, sorry Cate, you're _both _my best friends, but right now baby Tony is my favorite!"

"Why, what's going on? I thought Gibbs said -"

Abby hastily texted back a short message and then tossed the phone back in her purse so she could talk to Cate.

"Tony talked to Ron Rawlings down in Cyber Crimes about Tim joining their team when one of theirs transfers out, Tim just interviewed for the position, and Ron said he really liked him, and didn't see any problem transferring him from Norfolk to here!"

"Abby, that's _great, _that's really even better, that way Tim can work some more cases with us and see if it really is what he wants to do, and start working towards it!"

" I _know, _Cate, why didn't _we_ think of that?"

Cate gave her a flabberghasted look that said, "You drive me half nuts but I love you anyways." and Tony laughed at her rolling eyes and exasperated huff.

"Come on, girl, we're gonna be late and Sister Rosita will be calling from the bowling alley pay phone and then complaining about the quarter."

Abby gave her surrogate brother another good squeeze and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Tony. This rates two meals a week."

"I'll hold you to one, Abs, I know you're schedule. Go on, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Tony! Thank you! Love you!" she proclaimed, waving behind her as Cate ushered her to the car.

"Love you too, Abs." he shouted back, then added, "And Catie, most of the time!"

Cate shook her head at him and climbed into the car, and they were off in a flourish before Tony even got his backpack out of the car. He ran in and grabbed the steaks out of the freezer, than took a quick shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Less then a half hour later he was back on the road to Gibbs' place, and found the man already home. Well, he had a valid excuse. He let himself in without announcement and headed for the kitchen with the steaks and pie to find Gibbs putting some of his own groceries away.

"Go start a fire, I'll get the steaks thawing in the microwave and grab us some beers."

"On it, Boss." Tony pronounced, and proceeded to get a good blaze going in short order. He sat back on his haunches, enjoying the warmth and smell. There had been fireplaces in the mansions he had grown up in, but rarely were they lit – his father declared it too much mess and fuss, and the wood too expensive to buy just to burn for no reason, but Tony had always enjoyed them immensely at summer camp. Not much later, Gibbs tipped an open beer bottle his way, and Tony reached up for it with a smile.

"So what took ya so long?" Gibbs asked casually, taking a long pull of beer and settling on the couch behind his second.

"Cate and Abby followed me home and we talked."

"Everything's good now?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Abby's cooking Cajun for me once a week 'till she runs out of recipes and Cate's gassing up the truck or car when it's my turn for the next month."

"Sweet. Restitution like that will keep reminding them of the crime. Don't let 'em try to weasel out of it after a while, you hold them to the time they told you."

"Yeah. I feel kind of bad that you came down on them like that, McGee said you roared into Abby's lab like 'thunder'!"

Gibbs smirked, remembering the looks on their three faces when he blew into the lab, and felt no guilt over their terror.

"But not really." Tony added, and Gibbs smirk became a smile. "They deserved it. They like to accuse me of thinking with my – well, not with my brain when it comes to women. They weren't even thinking when it came to McGee, at least not Abby, it was like her brain had just – gone to the spa as soon as Tim showed up here, and come running back when you put the fear of God into her."

"Just told her the facts. Like you said, they were right in front of her, she just didn't want to see them. Lucky for us, that doesn't happen when she's working an actual case."

"Yeah. Funny the same thing that makes her so good at forensics can really wreak havoc outside of her job."

"Yeah, well." Gibbs drawled, looking pensive as he took another slug of beer. "Same for all of us. Can't always shut it off even if we want to."

"Tell that to Cate. She about broke my hand the other day for picking up a letter on her desk."

"Personal business, Tony, nobody likes someone snooping in their private business."

"And yet I get paid a moderately decent salary for doing just that on a weekly basis."

Gibbs had no reply to that. What could he say? It was true, and holding Tony to a different standard of behavior because he annoyed them with his curiosity wasn't any more fair than not calling Abby on her headstrong ways outside of her lab work, or Cate's driving need to prove herself as the only woman on the team. What made them great at their jobs bled into their private lives, and there was no getting around it.

"We can find ways to call each other on it without resorting to snipery. And when we can't, we need to figure out how to forgive each other for it or we'll never last as a team."

Tony was silent this time, and Gibbs wondered if there was some reason DiNozzo hadn't forgiven his partner and Abby for their take no prisoners march to put McGee on the team.

"You not gonna let this go, Tony?"

"Gone like the wind, Boss. Just still hurts some. Didn't know that they thought of me like a spoiled brat, I always thought it was the other way around, that _they _were the brats, always double teaming me and trying to put me in my place."

"Sibling rivalry, kid. They're experts at it, both had younger or older brothers or both. They know how to do end runs and manipulate to get what they want. Not pretty, just a fact of life for them, survival in their eyes, they don't even realize they're doing it."

Tony settled back down off his haunches and leaned up against the couch end to get comfortable.

"Hard to know what siblings behave like when you've never had them. All I knew was they – were all of a sudden out to get me. Felt weird. Scary. And then I – started thinking that – maybe not tomorrow, but somewhere down the road, Timmie would end up replacing me _anyways _'cause I know that's what they're going to be looking for down the road. And there're a lot of non-linear thinkers who know they're way around a computer out there."

"Like you, Tony?" Gibbs asked gently, but there was a challenge in his voice.

"You know I'm a hunt and peck kinda guy, Boss."

"Yeah. Not what Abby tells me."

"Abby tattles too much. That much I _do _know about sisters and brothers."

"You know she adores you, DiNozzo, and she didn't mean to tell me, just slipped out one day when we were working on a case a while back. Why do you keep letting Cate think you're a Neanderthal on the computer?"

"Makes her feel smart. Smart-er. But mostly 'cause I'm usually just too damned worn out from doing most of the bull work that I don't want to have to bother with it. Sometimes my nerves are just too shot."

"She'll kill ya dead when she finds out you played her on it."

"Don't care. It's what she gets for breaking Rule Eight. I might not know a lot about sibling rivalry, but I know about actions having consequences. Thus a free coffee every morning for me for a month."

"She offered that _besides _gassing the truck all month?"

"Yuhp."

"Anything else?"

"Nope. Just the coffee and gassing the truck. Figured that was gonna hurt enough as it was."

"You _do _know that Abby cooking Cajun for you every week is not a punishment for her, she loves doing it."

"I know. Couldn't think of anything suitable that she could do for me, and I didn't really care, anyways, she apologized and hugged me and I figured that should be that. No point in keeping it going."

"Good boy." Gibbs declared, tousling Tony's hair and getting up from the couch. "Need a haircut, Tony, when you gonna get one?"

Tony smiled, knowing his hair was regulation length, but that it still irked his high and tight boss.

"When you and Cate quit telling me I need to get it cut." he snarked, and took a long drink of his beer.

Gibbs let him sit and enjoy the fire while he got the steaks ready for roasting, glad that his team had been able to settle the situation without anymore hurt feelings, and proud that Tony had taken the high road and helped resolve it instead of fanning the flames.

He knew it was extra difficult for Tony to deal with the occasional off-kilter behavior from his surrogate sisters, never having had a sibling to learn the warp and weft of the tapestry that was family, and that sometimes the thread got knotted in the process. They hadn't been together that long, and Gibbs knew just from life experience that there was always going to be some sort of tangle to unravel no matter how close they were, and that everyone was going to take turns sorting them all out.

And when things got too tight, there was always Ducky to calmly intervene with his cool headed, and mostly non-judgmental wisdom.

Gibbs dredged the steaks through his secret sauce and slapped them on a platter, grabbing a couple more beers on the way. He enjoyed Tony's company the most when they were both mellow and could relax and not have to bare their souls too much. It wasn't that he minded so much listening to Tony vent or recall a past situation that still haunted him, Lord knew he was guilty enough of that with poor, patient Ducky.

It was more the fact that it was good to spend quality time with DiNozzo, maybe share what each other enjoyed and learn what made the other tick. Or not even talk much at all, just hang out and relax by the fireplace or work on some project in the basement. Tony was surprisingly good working with his hands on the wood, and a quick learner for the mechanics behind the construction of whatever object he was building. He never gave up or even got frustrated, instead quietly absorbing everything Gibbs taught him about wood grains and strengths, what wood was best to use for each project and why, and the older man would reward Tony with a grin when he proudly showed his boss the finished product.

Sometimes it hurt to have such eagerness and youth around him, especially when Tony would flash a grin or give a delighted or comical look to the man that reminded him too much of a little girl he'd gotten so much joy out of teaching. But he knew Tony needed, deserved, someone in his life not only to mentor him, but to show pride in what he accomplished. And bastard though he was, it wasn't in him to deny Tony much of anything when it came to the basics that so many people, including Gibbs, took for granted when they were growing up, but had been withheld from Tony through neglect and sheer selfishness.

When Gibbs got back to the living room, Tony was dozing, arms and legs crossed, beer still in hand as he relaxed against the end of the couch. It was as still as he'd seen the kid in a while, and wondered if he should take a picture as proof that Tony could and did actually sit still.

"Steak's are on, brought more beer." Gibbs informed him, and Tony nodded without opening his eyes, the flames from the fire making odd shadows on his face. "You stayin' the night?"

"I guess. Nowhere to be in the morning. Thought I'd try that new diner down the block for breakfast.

Not too early, though."

"Sounds good. Your room's still in tact, I made McGee sleep on the couch."

"Breakfast is on me, Boss."

Gibbs couldn't help the full out grin that lit his face, knowing that Tony understood what he was trying to tell him without having to get mushy about it.

"You ever heard of a changeling, Boss? I had an Irish nanny once who used to love keeping me awake all night with her folktales. She'd keep me in line by telling me that if I wasn't a good boy, the fairies would come during the night and take me and leave an elfin baby. McGee's gamer name is Elflord. Triggered something in my head, you know, the name, the situation..."

Gibbs cringed inside, wondering what other 'folktales' the well-intentioned by damaging nanny had imparted on his boy. As if what Tony's father had done wasn't enough! He reached over and cupped a strong hand around his SFA's neck.

"Not ever replacing you, Tony." he growled, "Not with Elflord or any _other '_changeling. "Told ya when you first came to me you were mine. I might bring somebody else to the team, but you're not going anywhere, so get that through your thick head."

"So I'm still your favorite?"

"You're my favorite _boy_, DiNozzo. Don't be starting another war with Abby and Cate."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Boss. But I might have to remind the Elflord."


End file.
